1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaged drug inspection device and method which inspects drugs packaged in a packet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, for example, in a hospital, when a plurality of types of drug that are taken at different times (for example, after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner) are prescribed for a patient, one-dose packaging has generally been performed which packages a dose of a plurality of types of drugs (for example, pills and capsules) in one packet. The one-dose packaging is performed as follows: a pharmacist picks drugs according to the prescription and sets each dose of drugs on a tray (also referred to as a tablet case) of a packaging machine; and the packaging machine automatically packages the drugs in the tray in each packet. In the one-dose packaging, in some cases, the pharmacist manually performs the picking of the drugs or the setting of the drugs on the tray. Therefore, a different type of drug or a different number of drugs from those described in the prescription are likely to be erroneously packaged. In addition, in the case of an apparatus which automatically selects and sets drugs, the drugs are likely to be caught in the apparatus and a different type of drug or a different number of drugs from those described in the prescription are likely to be erroneously packaged.
An automatic pill packaging machine disclosed in JP1993-337168A (JP-H05-337168A) captures an image of drugs before the drugs are packaged in a packet and compares the drug type information of the drug obtained by analyzing the captured image with drug type information which is input in advance from an information processing apparatus or a terminal to inspect whether the drugs packaged in the packet are correct.
A drug inspection device disclosed in JP2008-18230A manually or automatically captures an image of each dose of drugs which are packaged in each packet, analyzes the captured image to calculate the length or area of the drugs, and calculates the concentration values of R, G, and B for each pixel. Then, the drug inspection device checks whether the packaged drugs are identical to the drugs described in the prescription, on the basis of the analysis result of the image and the results of the comparison between the reference image data items of the drugs.
A recognition and check system disclosed in JP2003-517335A captures an image of the content of a container having drugs therein and analyzes the captured image to extract the features of the drugs including the color, shape, size, and marking of the drugs. Then, the recognition and check system compares the extracted features with the features of the drugs which are stored in a database in advance to determine whether the drugs dispensed into the container are identical to the drugs described in the prescription.
A drug inspection support device disclosed in JP2013-017745A and JP2012-245032A captures the silhouette and color of drugs in a packet and compares the shape or color of the drugs obtained by analyzing each captured image with the shape or color of the drugs registered in a database to perform a preliminary inspection process of specifying the name of the drugs in the packet. Then, the drug inspection support device performs a secondary inspection process of specifying the name of a drug, which has not been specified by the preliminary inspection process, using optical spectrum analysis.
A packaged drug inspection system disclosed in JP2013-55970A captures an image of drugs in a packet and analyzes the captured image to determine whether the drugs packaged in the packet are the same as those described in a prescription. The packaged drug inspection system removes, for example, the overlap between the drugs before capturing the image of the drug. Therefore, it is possible to accurately capture the image of the drugs in the packet.
A drug dispensing device disclosed in JP2011-104077A vibrates drugs corresponding to a dose before packaging to remove the overlap between the drugs, captures the image of the drugs, analyzes the captured image to count the number of drugs corresponding to a dose, and compares the counting result with prescription information to inspect the dispensing of the drugs.
A drug recognition device disclosed in JP2004-167158A compares the image of a package of the drugs picked by a pharmacist with a plurality of reference images, which are stored in a storage unit in advance in order to recognize the names of the drugs, to recognize the names of the drugs. In addition, when there are two or more reference images similar to the captured image, the drug recognition device prompts the pharmacist to specify a drug name.